Assortative mating in sympatric host races of the European corn borer

Although a growing body of work supports the plausibility of sympatric speciation in animals, the practical difficulties of directly quantifying reproductive isolation between diverging taxa remain an obstacle to analyzing this process. We used a combination of genetic and biogeochemical markers to produce a direct field estimate of assortative mating in phytophagous insect populations. We show that individuals of the same insect species, the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis, that develop on different host plants can display almost absolute reproductive isolation-the proportion of assortative mating was >95%-even in the absence of temporal or spatial isolation.     

Staphylococcus aureus seroproteomes discriminate ruminant isolates causing mild or severe mastitis

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of mastitis in ruminants. In ewe mastitis, symptoms range from subclinical to gangrenous mastitis. S. aureus factors or host-factors contributing to the different outcomes are not completely elucidated. In this study, experimental mastitis was induced on primiparous ewes using two S. aureus strains, isolated from gangrenous (strain O11) or subclinical (strain O46) mastitis. Strains induced drastically distinct clinical symptoms when tested in ewe and mice experimental mastitis. Notably, they reproduced mild (O46) or severe (O11) mastitis in ewes. Ewe sera were used to identify staphylococcal immunoreactive proteins commonly or differentially produced during infections of variable severity and to define core and accessory seroproteomes. Such SERological Proteome Analysis (SERPA) allowed the identification of 89 immunoreactive proteins, of which only 52 (58.4%) were previously identified as immunogenic proteins in other staphylococcal infections. Among the 89 proteins identified, 74 appear to constitute the core seroproteome. Among the 15 remaining proteins defining the accessory seroproteome, 12 were specific for strain O11, 3 were specific for O46. Distribution of one protein specific for each mastitis severity was investigated in ten other strains isolated from subclinical or clinical mastitis. We report here for the first time the identification of staphylococcal immunogenic proteins common or specific to S. aureus strains responsible for mild or severe mastitis. These findings open avenues in S. aureus mastitis studies as some of these proteins, expressed in vivo, are likely to account for the success of S. aureus as a pathogen of the ruminant mammary gland.     

Staphylococcus aureus proteins differentially recognized by the ovine immune response in mastitis or nasal carriage

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen in dairy ruminants where it is found in healthy carriage and can be a major cause of mastitis. A better knowledge of the host-pathogen interactions is needed to tackle this serious animal health problem. This study aimed at identifying S. aureus proteins differentially expressed by S. aureus in nasal colonization versus mastitis. Serological proteome analysis (SERPA) was used to examine protein samples prepared from culture supernatants of S. aureus strains originally isolated from gangrenous mastitis and nasal carriage (O11) or subclinical mastitis (O46) and to compare patterns of immune-reactive proteins. These staphylococcal proteins were revealed by sera obtained from ewes suffering from S. aureus mastitis and by sera obtained from healthy nulliparous ewes (i.e. no lactation and no mastitis or other symptoms) that were nasally colonized by S. aureus. Altogether 49 staphylococcal immune-reactive proteins were identified in this study. Patterns of proteins revealed by sera from infected- or healthy carrier- animals were comparable and analysis singled out one immune-reactive protein, N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase, which was recognized by each of the 6 sera from infected animals, when tested individually, and not by the sera of healthy carriers. This is the first study that compares the S. aureus seroproteome in colonization versus mastitis context in ruminants. These results open avenues for studies aiming at a better understanding of the balance between infection and commensal lifestyle in this opportunistic pathogen and at new prevention strategies.     

Different thermal responses in two coexisting aphids may account for differences in their seasonal abundance in cotton fields

The coexistence of species competing for resources can be facilitated by differential effects of temperature on fitness components. The coexisting cotton aphids Aphis gossypii Glover and Acyrthosiphon gossypii Mordvilko show seasonal differences in abundance in North-Western China, the former reaching higher field abundances and declining later in the season than the latter. We hypothesized that differences in responses to temperature might be the proximate mechanism driving this difference in population dynamics between the two species. Aphids from laboratory-reared colonies and directly collected from the field in early summer were used to study their development, survival and reproduction under a range of constant temperatures. Life-table parameters suggest that A. gossypii performed better than Ac. gossypii under all temperature treatments tested, and the difference tended to be strongest under high temperatures. These observations are consistent with the higher numbers and the later decline of A. gossypii in the field compared with Ac. gossypii. Our findings help in understanding the seasonal population dynamics of both species, as well as in forecasting pest trends under global warming scenarios.